"Jane Lindskold - Endpoint Insurance" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lindskold Jane)

Most of the time we canтАЩt touch the pirates- AASU doesnтАЩt maintain a private
military fleetтАжтАЭ
тАЬBut fences and money laundering are less violent crimes,тАЭ I said, just to show him I
was with him, тАЬand you want meтАжтАЭ
тАЬTo help me trace this end of the pirateтАЩs operation,тАЭ Spike replied promptly.
тАЬAASU would hire you and everything.тАЭ
He grinned slyly. тАЬWe even can offer you a special insurance rate reserved for
employees in good standing.тАЭ
тАЬThatтАЩs right.тАЭ I couldnтАЩt help laughing, though the problem was serious. тАЬTwist my
arm. Seriously, Spike, why me? AASU must have lots of people more qualified to
take on this job.тАЭ
тАЬMore people,тАЭ Spike agreed. тАЬMore qualified? ThatтАЩs questionable. As much as I
hate to admit it, the pirates could have spies inside AASU. I didnтАЩt go into the details
before, but there has been a small but significant upturn in the number of valuable
cargos being taken. One way the pirates could learn about these cargos is by having
a mole inside AASU. ThatтАЩs why I wanted to meet you here rather than having you
come to my office.тАЭ
I frowned thoughtfully. Someone working with the pirates from inside an insurance
company did make sense.
тАЬHow about working with the local militia?тАЭ I asked.
Spike looked disgusted. тАЬRemember, EndpointтАЩs system government is not yet
acknowledging that there is local pirate activity.тАЭ
тАЬThat seems impossible!тАЭ I protested.
тАЬNot really,тАЭ Spike shrugged. тАЬNonviolent crime is always easier to overlook.тАЭ
тАЬI see.тАЭ I kept my tone noncommittal
SpikeтАЩs voice took on a pleading note. тАЬAllie, you know this system-everyone who
counts, both in legitimate business and otherwise.тАЭ
тАЬHardly,тАЭ I demurred dryly, but Spike did have a point. IтАЩd been coming to
Endpoint since the original hundred settled. I knew the system pretty well.
Spike persisted. тАЬYou know the jump points the smugglers use, the likely places to
cache fuel or supplies. You even know the surrounding systems. Besides, you and I
get along.тАЭ
тАЬWhat,тАЭ I asked frostily, тАЬdoes that have to do with anything?тАЭ
тАЬWhy,тАЭ Spike beamed, glancing around the crowded confines of the singleshipтАЩs
cabin, тАЬIтАЩll be coming with you. Certainly you donтАЩt think IтАЩm going to let you have
the fun of catching the pirates all by yourself!тАЭ
I gave in, of course. The salary AASU was offering was generous, especially when I
factored in company insurance rates. Even after taking out a much more
comprehensive policy, I was now making enough money to cover my expenses and
to put a substantial amount aside for the future.
The data disk containing our contract was hand-carried to AASU headquarters by a
private courier I personally selected for discretion and reliability. Thus, as far as
regional AASU was concerned, Captain Ah-Lee remained nothing more than a
freelance courier. Anyone on the inside of the company who might be working with
the pirates shouldnтАЩt be able to discover my new involvement.
Next, my new partner went undercover. Allen тАЬSpikeтАЭ West took a liner out-system
to investigate a claim on heav-ily populated Fyolyn. He would slip back in-system a
few standards later on the ship of a smuggler who owed me more than a few favors.
While Spike was away, I hunted for signs of the piratesтАЩ operations. Since IтАЩd
carried a few cargoes of dubious legality in my time-mostly information rather than